Many faces of the Messiah

King of Kings
(1961)Director: Nicholas RayStarred Jeffrey Hunter as
the blue-eyed leading man who, American critic Leonard Maltin wrote, "may or
may not have been the movies' most convincing Son of God, (but) was surely the
prettiest".

The Gospel According to St Matthew
(1964)Director: Pier Paolo PasoliniShot in black and
white with hand-held cameras, it used all non-professional actors to stress the
outsider status of Jesus, played credibly by architecture student Enrique
Irazoqui, and his followers.

The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)Director:
George StevensMax von Sydow, pictured, played a grim, Nordic Jesus in this
overblown, studio-driven folly. "Centurion" John Wayne drawling "this surely
was the son of God" regularly made audiences laugh.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)Director: Norman
JewisonBased on the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical, it generated its
own controversy by turning the Biblical story into rock opera. The confused
disciples were perhaps more engaging than Ted Neeley's bland Jesus.

Godspell (1973)TV director David Greene's filming of the stage
musical that turned the Gospel of Matthew into modern song and dance. Victor
Garber was the Son of God and is now best known as Jennifer Garner's dad on
Alias.

Jesus of Nazareth (1977)Though created as a TV mini-series, this
production was among the best-crafted New Testament films. British actor Robert
Powell's Jesus was full of sensitivity and grace.

The Life of Brian (1979)The Monty Python crew's story of the
ill-fated Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), born on Christmas one stable away from
Jesus, and mistaken for the Messiah.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)Director:
Martin ScorseseThe movie triggered a barrage of protest because it showed
Jesus tormented by doubts and hallucinating about marriage and children. Willem
Dafoe rendered Jesus as a fully complex, emotional human
being.